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A local lad from Preston has won the pool under-23s World Championships.
Josh Traynor, who attended the Penwortham Priory Academy, competed in the 2024 World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) championships in June, which were hosted in Blackpool.
He came away with two titles – the Under 23s World Champion and Under 23s England Team World Champion.
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The event was held between the 18 and 27 June at the Grand Hotel.
Josh competed with his mates, Jake Cooper, Matt Ryan and Luke Cronin to take away the England team’s world champions title.
He then went onto the singles events which tested him at the ‘very highest level,’ winning his last 32 matches. Josh then went on to play ‘one of the best players in the world’ who played ‘almost perfect’ pool – Karl Sutton.
Josh said: “I was absolutely made up to get that far and play a player like Karl deep into the tournament.”
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To top the two weeks off in Blackpool, Josh came away with the Under 23s World Champion title.
He added: “It has been an ambition and dream of mine ever since I picked up a cue.
“I sacrificed a lot to achieve this and it really does show that if you put your mind to something and have the right support and people around you then you can be successful.
“The greatest feeling was returning back home to all my friends and family and realising you’ve not won it on your own, I can’t thank people enough for the support and what you’ve all done for me I seriously could not have done it alone.”
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